I still love water, but...

A few months ago I was body surfing beside my husband at a beach tooted as one of the 'top ten most beautiful beaches of the world" according to the travel channel: Hapuna Beach, HI. Beautiful day, warm water..with plans to kayak down a nearby mountainside on 'the Flumes' later in the day. The waves were disappointingly small, so we went out a little further out where the water quickly became deep. Finally a wave came our way, not big, but as it lifted me up, I felt it's power, quickly pushing me towards the shallow beach. My husband instinctively turned on his side as it lifted him, tucked into a fetal position protecting his head. Me, I just flailed like a child, then face-planted in the sand, feeling the rest of me flip over backwards, I heard, like it was somewhere far away, the sickening sound of my neck, 'cruuuunnnnch.'. As I came up with a bloody face, I saw my husband looking around for me. I pointed to my neck. The waves were so powerful even with Don and a fellow surfer trying to get me out of the water, the waves kept pulling me back out, filling my suit with more sand than I could imagine. Fortunate for us, there was a beach rescue team practicing just a few paces from us! They were at my side immediately, one putting me in a full nelson and stablizing my neck in his squeeze. They strapped me on a board and insisted I be taken to the hospital. I was NOT going in that ambulance and I did not want anyone missing a trip down the mountain in a kayak because of me. When one of the rescuers told me this was the #1 beach in Hawaii for broken necks, I relented. Taken away, xrayed and declared I had a neck sprain and cracked nose. Oh good. But soon I was back on the beach (this was a vacation, right?)...I had wanted to go snorkeling, so we rented kayaks and explored along the reef for a good place for me to slip into the waves and snorkel for a while. I was a little anxious as we paddled to a good spot. I've always respected the ocean, swimming many times off the coast of Oregon, but never afraid. I was a little afraid now -from simply the feel of the waves moving me around. but I whispered a prayer of courage, slipped out of my boat and into my gear and went exploring. This is when a strange and wonderful thing happened. The ocean floor was so peaceful. So beautifully colorful. It's calmness, calmed me. A whole different world of fish slowly moved around me. All fear left me, and a few minutes later when I was ready to swim my way back to Don and our waiting kayaks a few yards off shore, I was renewed, estastic, brave. I pulled myself up and back into my seat, all fear gone, replaced again with that intense love for water